Champions League: Blow to Man United, Tottenham as EPL Lose Fifth Spot to Germany

Champions League: Blow to Man United, Tottenham as EPL Lose Fifth Spot to Germany

Fred Kennedy
updated at May 2, 2024 at 9:27 AM
In this article:
UEFA Champions League logo
UEFA UCL
Europe
English Premier League logo
ENG Premier League
England
Manchester United logo
Manchester United
England
31
Tottenham Hotspur logo
Tottenham Hotspur
England
40
Borussia Dortmund logo
Borussia Dortmund
Germany
34
Paris Saint Germain (PSG) logo
PSG
France
35
  • England will have only four teams in the Champions League next season
  • The EPL lost the extra spot in the elite European tournament to Germany
  • Dortmund's big victory over PSG means Germany will get the extra place

PAY ATTENTION: Checkout Fixtures; Live Scores; Results and Tables section on Sports Brief and never miss out on the action ⚽️

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a huge blow in their hopes of sealing a Champions League spot with a fifth-place finish.

UEFA announced a new expanded tournament format for next season, which will see two extra places for the best-performing leagues in Europe every campaign.

The UEFA Champions League trophy is seen prior to the UEFA Champions League Draw. Photo by Valerio Pennicino.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will be disappointed after the Premier League lost a fifth Champions League spot to Germany. Photo by Valerio Pennicino.
Source: Getty Images

According to the BBC, England getting one of the two extra places would have seen the team finishing fifth in the Premier League earn an automatic slot in the Champions League next season.

As it stands, that spot could have gone to the likes of Tottenham, who currently sit fifth, sixth-placed United, or even Newcastle, who are down in seventh.

How the EPL missed out a UCL spot

However, that won't happen following Borussia Dortmund's Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night and Bayern Munich's draw with Real Madrid in the other fixture.

Dortmund outclassed PSG 1-0 at home, with Niclas Fullkrug's goal the only difference in the tie.

The victory took Germany's total in the European co-efficient rankings to 18.35, with England's standing at 17.37.

As such, Germany will get the extra fifth spot for the European elite tournament, per Fabrizio Romano.

Should everything remain constant and Dortmund fail to lift the tournament this season, they will most likely secure qualification with their current fifth-place ranking in the Bundesliga standings.

Fans in awe of Sturridge's accurate UCL prediction

Earlier, Sports Brief reported on Daniel Sturridge making three correct predictions for Bayern Munich's Champions League cracker against Real Madrid.

The two European heavyweights faced off in the first leg of their semi-final fixture on Tuesday, April 30, at the Allianz Arena, which finished a 2-2 draw.

Authors
Fred Kennedy photo
Fred Kennedy
Fred Kennedy has a Bachelor's degree in journalism (Daystar University), currently working as a Sports Editor. He has more than five years of experience in digital journalism.